BLM Resource Advisory Council To Meet In Dillon

The Bureau of Land Management’s Western Montana Resource Advisory Council will meet Sept. 16, starting at 9 a.m. The meeting will be held at the Dillon BLM Field Office Conference Room, 1005 Selway Drive, in Dillon.

Key agenda items include updates from the managers of the Butte, Dillon, and Missoula Field Offices; an update on the Mountain States Transmission Intertie draft environmental impact statement; and a discussion about the bureau’s environmental assessments for oil and gas lease sales in Montana and the Dakotas. For a copy of the agenda, contact David Abrams at the BLM Butte Field Office, (406) 533-7617 or e-mail david_abrams@blm.gov.

The meeting is open to the public and the public comment period is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to noon. Interested parties may make oral statements before the council or file written statements for the council to consider. Depending on the number of people wishing to make comments, a per-person time limit may be established.

The purpose of the RAC is to advise the Secretary of Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of issues associated with public land management. The 15-member RAC includes individuals who have expertise or education in the planning and management of public lands and resources.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.